Pianos

Jim Foster had worked for a few piano stores before opening his own store, with his wife Marilyn, in Bettendorf, Iowa.  Foster Family Music focuses on piano and sheet music for pianos and has come to be known throughout the area as a center for musical events, recitals and a strong supporter of annual events that support music education as well as charities such as the Ronald McDonald House for children's health research.  If you want a dose of musical passion, stop in to see Jim!  

Marilyn Foster supported her husband's idea to open a music store in her home state of Iowa. From the beginning, she looked after all of the books and accounting for the store.  She enjoyed the work and especially enjoyed getting to work with her husband and now, daughter Christi, on a regular basis.  Marilyn is also very active in many community events and fund raisers and has been for several decades.  The friendly faces, giving hearts and passion for music certainly provided for a family feeling when you walk in their doors.

Lori Frazer’s mother taught piano and organ, which was the foundation for her own passion for music.  When Lori was a small child, her mother purchased a piano for the home, which later would serve Lori for her own training.  Like many people in Northern California in the 1950s and 60s, Lori and her mother were influenced by Marion Richie, a well-known music teacher!  Lori was hooked on the passion of teaching and found herself following in the footsteps of her mother and those of Marion.  In the late 1970s, while hanging out at the local Yamaha Music store, Lori began teaching se

Larry Fresch Sr. exuded the passion and the love of music that is so much a part of this industry. His four Fresch Music stores in Ohio not only became part of their communities, they encouraged the growth of music programs and music making at every level. After working for a small retailer in Sandusky for two years, Larry bought the store, renamed it and began his long association with NAMM –the year was 1958. The Fresch Music store in Columbus, Ohio opened in 1969 and became one of the first great mall store successes in the music products industry.

Larry Fresch has worked by day as a sales manager for piano and organ companies and by night as an accomplished saxophone player and singer in Southern California. He grew up in Sandusky, Ohio, where his father had a music retail store. Young Larry began playing the accordion before switching to the saxophone at the age of ten. He enlisted in the United States Navy and attended the Navy Music School in Washington, DC. Larry performed on many Goodwill Tours including those for wounded soldiers returning home from Vietnam.

Donnie Fritts was born in Florence, Alabama, the right place at the right time to grow up to become a studio musician and songwriter.  Just a little way down the road from where Donnie grew up was the epicenter of the Muscle Shoals Sound –and Donnie was there, front and center!  In the mid-1960s, Donnie met and became friends with Kris Kristofferson.  In fact, Donnie appeared in three movies with Kris and wrote several songs for him as well.  As a songwriter, Donnie wrote “You’re Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning” in 1974, “We Had It All” for Waylon Jennings the year before and “

Barry Frost thoroughly enjoys his role as the manager of the piano department at Blues Angle Music in Pensacola. Being in the position of providing the right piano for his customers is meaningful to Barry and harkens back to the moment his parents purchased a Kimbal Piano when he was eight years old. He took lessons on that piano throughout high school and went on to major in music in college, earning a degree in music education. Barry worked for Dollarhide Music in Pensacola where he was afforded the opportunity to meet Mr. Henry Steinway of Steinway & Sons as well as the fou

Hitoshi Fukutome has enjoyed a long and interesting career at the Yamaha Corporation.  He joined Yamaha in 1982 and has served in many roles for the company over the years including Manager of the Piano Division in Europe in 1990 and as president of Yamaha Music in Austria five years later. His most recent assignment, before coming to the US, was as president of Yamaha Music in Korea. In March 2013 he was named President of Yamaha Corporation of America and remarked that he very much enjoys working with so many employees that are passionate about music and music making.

William Fuller began working as a salesman for the Wurlitzer Company in 1953. His original idea was to gain some sales training and look for a job in the office, which was based in his hometown of DeKalb, Ill. William really enjoyed traveling to dealers throughout his territory, which changed several times before he retired in 1988. He never did make it to a desk job at Wurlitzer, but William would have been the last to bring that point up because of the many friends he met as a sales rep. In 2003, William took part in the astonishing Wurlitzer reunion, which brought co-workers ba

C. Darby Fulton’s father opened a music store, which seemed the perfect place for Darby growing up. He enjoyed the business and worked with his father as the company grew into 26 locations during the boom of the home organ craze in the 1960s. Having been a music retailer for years Darby became a grand promoter showcasing the Hammond products at county fairs, mall openings and tractor-pulls. During the height of the organ boom, 1973, twenty five percent of all musical products sold were organs. This fact presented challenges of supply for Darby. At one point his sales of trade in o

Jim Funada has dedicated the past four decades to serving the music products industry with passion and commitment. His journey began at the Yamaha Corporation, where he delved into keyboard retailing and laid the foundation for a remarkable career. In the late 1960s, Jim took on the responsibility of overseeing Yamaha school programs across the San Francisco Bay Area, spearheading their success and subsequent expansion to multiple cities and states in the western region. His expertise led him to Yamaha's headquarters in Southern California, where he continued to contribute signifi

Bob Furst was a veteran of the piano industry for over 50 years, Bob sold nearly every brand of player, upright and grand piano that you can think of. Over the years he also became an expert on the value of pianos and a historian on the background of piano manufacturers. With a growing need for updated guides on the prices of vintage pianos, Bob wrote a series of books that he made available on the Internet. The Piano Bluebook has been in print for over 20 years and lists nearly every model and brand name with facts about each style and design.  

John Galante was the accountant for the Story & Clark Piano Company beginning in the late 1950s. John oversaw the growth and development of the piano industry during those years and witnessed first hand the powerful team at Story & Clark as they worked to compete with the home organ boom, which became strong in the mid to late 1960s. John enjoyed his role within the company and took pride in the team of people that he brought together on various programs over the years.

Matteo Galanti and his family were instrumental in the growth and development of the accordion and organ industry, both inside and outside the United States..

Gary Galanti comes from a well-known and well-respected music products family. His great grandfather began building accordions in Italy in 1890 and later his uncle and father sold them in America. Gary began in the family business by helping with the wholesale division while also expanding their product line to include organs and pianos. In 1984, Gary had the idea to create a Hyundai branded piano and thought the name recognition would increase sales - he was right.

Rich Galassini was nineteen years old when he first visited Cunningham Pianos as a customer with his parents.  A few years later, in 1987, when he was just 23, Rich began working at the store.  After working closely with the family that owned the business, Rich was able to purchase the company and remains the owner and president.  His background in music performance and music education has played a strong role in the leadership of the business both within their community and within the music industry.

Genett Gamber was passionate about music making from a very young age.  She recalls her mother arranged to have a piano teacher come to the house and being so excited about learning as much as she could.  That desire and passion only grew over time and by the time she graduated from college; she had already begun her career as a music teacher.  She found that private teaching was the most rewarding for her and soon discovered that her college friend Pete was opening a music store and needed teachers.  The two opened the store together, got married and have been teaching music ever

Lynda Garcia is first and foremost a music teacher, which was not only her background but her life’s passion.  As she taught, Lynda developed methods and materials that assisted individuals as well as groups learn and develop as musicians.  Teaming with other educators, notably Brenda Dillon, she created innovative teaching tools that played key roles in the expansion of group lessons, as well as advances and improvements to musical instruments over the years.  As Educational Director of Roland, Lynda worked closely to grow the store out-reach programs and lesson programs around t

Gerard Garnier is the president of ALGAM in France and likes to say with pride that he started in the music industry with only one thing: a Black & Decker drill! He began making wooden flutes with his drill and soon expanded to 50 employees. He then began to import musical products and accessories, beginning with strings. Wholesale and importing became a large part of his business beginning in the early 1970s. Gerard teamed with Michel Lag to help grow the Lag Guitar brand, first in Europe and then throughout the world. The ALGAM brands also include Pleyel Pianos, which began

Mike Garson was classically trained on the piano and contributed greatly to jazz and rock as well as his own “now music” style. Mike’s passion for music is evident in everything he plays and his love with teaching and preserving his musical heritage is evident in nearly everything he says. For Mike, it is more than playing music, it is a matter of living in the music and making every effort to express what is happening in that very moment. His fascinating interview for the NAMM Oral History program included a look at his views about now music as well as his career that ranged from

Vic Geiger has had a long and impressive career in the piano and organ business going back to the day he was hired by Kimball in 1974. While with Kimball, Vic played an important role with the Bosendorfer Piano brand, working his way up to Executive Vice President of International Marketing. While working for Steinway for nine years beginning in 2000, Vic helped with the market research and strategic planning for the Essex and Boston product lines. After working for Sherman Clay, Vic decided to return to manufacturing with Rodgers Instrument Corp until his retirement in 2016.

Wilhelm Gertz was often seen working on the action of a vintage grand piano whenever you stopped to visit him in his store. After all, he has been doing this same thing most of his life. He was born into a family in Germany who ran the largest piano company in the country. He learned the craft, which he proudly passed along to his son. The W. Gertz Piano Company was located in New Haven, Connecticut, where his son carries on the family traditions.  

Steno Giulini served as the editor of the International Association magazine "Euro Piano" for well over 60 years.  He was by far the oldest employee of the specialist publishing PPV Medien and became a historian as he said, by simply writing and living.  At the time of his NAMM Oral History interview, Steno was just over 102 years old and still writing.  Back in the March 2011 issue of the magazine there appeared a special wish for his 100th birthday and his Italian translation of a great technical article about repair work on the piano. "I like my work very much.

Don Glasgow is the Director of Sales for North America for Grotrian Piano Company GmbH, joining the company in 2013.  Don’s role in the company followed a long career in the piano segment of the industry and adds to the rich history of the Grotrian history.  Friedrich Grotrian was born in 1803 in Schöningen, Germany, and as a young man lived in Moscow, where he ran a music business and was associated with piano manufacturing. Later in his life he teamed up with C.F. Theodor Steinweg, son of Heinrich Steinweg, to build pianos. Heinrich had emigrated to the U.S. about 1850, soon to

Richard Glazier has made a career out of his personal goal of keeping the American songbook alive. As a trained pianist, Richard travels around the world playing the songs of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Along the way he has befriended songwriters from those eras to gain stories and insights that he can then share with his audiences. Among the hit makers close to Richard is Hugh Martin who wrote, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Recently, Richard has been endorsee for PianoDisc since the early 2000’s.  

Rita Goldman sat right next to her future husband in high school and recalls with a smile how their friendship turned to a long and loving marriage. She also warmly recalls his passion for the piano business. Harry Goldman was the founder of Fields Piano in southern California, a store that continues to be run by his sons. Rita took part in the growth and development of the company, in particular the rental program. Yet, what she remembers most is just how much Harry loved the piano business and the many friends he acquired over his long career.

Jerry Goldman's father, Harry, opened a wholesale piano business inside Marshall Field's Department store in Chicago with his brother back in 1947. Just over a decade later, Harry and his wife, Rita, moved out to California to open their own piano store while kept his roots from the department store and called the new store "Fields Piano". Jerry and his brothers grew up in the business and took great pride in continuing the business that his parents established. Jerry officially came on board in 1974, just five years before his parents sold the store to their three children.

Hugh Goldsmith was hired by the Mason-Risch Piano Company of Canada when he was still a teenager in 1937. Times were difficult during the depression era and into the war years when Hugh enlisted into the Canadian Air Force. After the war he returned to the industry and worked as a traveling sales rep for nearly 30 years as well as a retailer and piano manufacture.

Joe Goodman began playing gigs around the Los Angeles area since he was very young with his primary instruments being the piano and trumpet. With a Marching Band scholarship for college in Hawaii, Joe performed in hundreds of clubs and hotels throughout the islands and created a show band called Solid Gold. After college he returned to Los Angeles where he worked for a local piano dealer before establishing his own retail store, Goodman Music in 1977. The store expanded to 11 locations and became known for providing emerging technology such as the synthesizer and hard disc recorde

Peter Goodrich grew up playing piano and got into the music business when he began a job at Lyon & Healy as an assistant to the manager. He got a chance to go to the harp factory and learned all about harps and the mechanisms inside of them. It turns out that Lyon & Healy was located in Steinway Hall in New York City, adjacent to the famed piano makers Steinway & Sons. When an opening appeared at Steinway, Peter applied and got the job. Peter stayed with Steinway for many years working in both the Institutional Sales Division as well as the Concert & Artist Divisio

Vince Grantano was a fixture among traveling piano representatives. He traveled the entire United States for several companies over the years to bring new products to retailers. His most notable job was with the Winter Piano Company where he worked for several decades. Vince joined the National Piano Traveler’s Association in the 1950s, during a time when several of the old timers could talk about the golden age of the piano in the early 1900s.

Paul Graves began delivering pianos in 1957 up in Minnesota before moving to Alabama where he continued to deliver.  He soon discovered that he would make more money if he sold the pianos and the love of selling soon took hold.  In 1960, Paul opened his first piano store in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  He moved the store up to Columbus, Ohio, two years later where he has remained.